Episode
Episode 151: Interview with NALC Branch 758 President Phil Bzura
- Podcast
- Hot House with Richie Ray
- Published
- Sep 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 6875
- Processing state
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Summary
NALC Branch 758 President Phil Bzura describes a long-running struggle over the grievance process in Region 6 and what he believes happens when regional leadership loses touch with the branches and stewards it is supposed to serve. Phil explains that the Dispute Resolution Process (DRP) was presented as a way to resolve grievances quickly and at the lowest possible level, reducing the need for arbitration andproviding timely remedies. But in Branch 758's experience, management repeatedly failed to meet on grievances and failed to provide requested information, while many Step B decisions provided little or no meaningful remedy. Branch 758 continued fighting. Eventually, a case went to arbitration and an arbitrator awarded $500 for management's repeated violations. From there, monetary remedies began appearing at Step B, and subsequent arbitration and pre-arbitration settlements produced escalating remedies reaching approximately $1,000 . Under former Region 6 NBA Troy Clark, Phil says the branchobtained strong settlements, including precedent-setting agreements and meaningful monetary remedies. Branch 758 also negotiated a Formal Step A agreement worth $2,400 on two grievances. According to Phil, things changed dramatically after Clark's departure. Phil recounts learning from his own postmaster that two pre-arbitration cases had been settled for only $25 each. He and Steward Fuson immediately contacted Kyle to question why cases that had previously produced significantly larger remedies were suddenly being settled for such small amounts. The disagreement became deeply personal when, according to Phil, Kyle responded to concerns about the enormous amount of work Branch 758's stewards put into their grievances by saying, "Get better stewards." Fuson was sitting…